None.
1. Field of Invention
This invention generally relates to passenger and freight transportation vehicles and more specifically to vehicles in which the guideway is comprised of columns only, with no structural interconnection of the columns.
2. Prior Art
Vehicles which operate above grade level, such as railroad trains, monorail trains or roadway-guided vehicles, all require an interconnecting guide structure to support the vehicle in the horizontal plane. The column guided and supported self-propelled vehicle provides its own internal guideway. Further, with guideway supported vehicles the surface of the guideway itself provides the propulsion means for the vehicle through traction on the guideway surface. The column guided and supported self-propelled vehicle requires no horizontal guideway structure, because it is driven between the supporting columns with a rotating, flexible screw contained within the vehicle in the horizontal plane. In this regard no similar patents have been discovered in searches of the IBM patents server website (www.ibm.com/server) and the uspto.gov website.
It is an object of this present invention to provide a column guided and supported self-propelled vehicle that can operate at moderate to high speeds with high gradability over a wide variety of terrain, over deep snow and over shallow water areas, such as lakes, rivers, bays, and wetlands.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a column guided and supported vehicle that is guided between the column rollers by the shape of the vehicle""s internal guideway, which is where the contact between the supporting column and the vehicle takes place. Springing and damping are provided by the column-mounted rollers as well as the springing and damping of the vehicle""s internal guideway. Acceleration, cruise speed, and braking are all provided by the rotational speed of the flexible drive screw. Directional control of the vehicle is also provided by the direction of rotation of the screw.
It is further an object of the invention to provide a support and guidance column in which the upper end of the column, which interfaces with the vehicle""s guideway, can be moved to allow the vehicle to change column paths.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention is a column guided and supported self-propelled vehicle whose supporting columns are fixed to provide a continuous guidepath or also can be moved to provide access for the vehicle to various other fixed column guidepaths.
The vehicle is comprised of an assembly of several modular structural elements hereafter referred to as the car body/structure. Each element of the car body/structure is hinged together in the vertical plane to form the vehicle and each contains a section of the internal guideway. The minimum length of the vehicle is greater than the distance between three guidance and support columns. One or more of the car body/structure elements contains the prime moverxe2x80x94either a heat engine, an electric motor, or a combination of both. The flexible drive screw is connected to the prime mover""s drive system so that it can rotate about its longitudinal center axis to engage the drive lugs located on each support column. The drive screw is constrained by several longitudinally mounted rollers in several of the car body/structure elements. These rollers constrain the drive screw in its vertical and lateral position so that the edges of each turn of the drive screw maintain contact with the drive lug on each column.
The means by which the vehicle is aligned when there is a change in direction of the guidance and support columns is accomplished by fitting those guidance and support assemblies which precede a change in the direction of the column path with a passive signal arm. The passive signal arm provides a signal to transducers which are mounted on the vehicle adjacent to the signal arm. The transducers send a signal to a signal processor and power supply which in turn provides a control signal and power to actuate the displacement jacks which are mounted between the adjacent car body/structures. The activated displacement jacks then slightly rotate the car body/structure in the yaw axis relative to each other to effect a curve. They then hold that position until they receive a signal from the transducers to release. This signal allows the centering springs to return the vehicle to a straight column path.
The features of this invention believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. However, the invention itself, both as to organization and method of operation together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.